polhemeus



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. A. POLHEMEUS.

(No Model.)

D... I R G E L B A G R E L L 0 R 9. 0 oo 3 5 oo nw N Patented Deo. '7, 1886.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. A. POLHEMBUS. ROLLER CABLE GRIP.

No. 353,809. Patented Deo. 7, 1886.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

G. A. POLHBMEUS. ROLLER GARLR GRIP. No. 353,809. YPReR'd Dec. '7, 1886.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GARRET A. POLHEMEUS, OF NYAOK, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE POLHEMEUS HYDRAULIC GRIP AND BRAKE COMPANY.

ROLLER CABLE-GRIP.

SPECIFICATION forming part: of Letters Patent No. 353,809, dated December 7, 1886.

Application filed January 14, 1886. Serial No. 188,542.

.To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known thatl, GAERET A. PoLHE- MEUs, of Nyack, in Rockland county, New York, have invented an Improved Roller Cable-Grip, of which the following is a complete specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figures 1, 2, and 3 are end views of my improved roller-cable grip, showing the parts Io in different positions. Fig. 4 is a side View, partly in section, of the same; Fig. 5, a plan or top view thereof; Fig. 6, a horizontal section through the jaws, and Fig. 7 a vertical crossseotion of one of the jaws. Figure 8 is x 5 a vertical section through the pump for moving the jaws; Fig. 9, a cross-section of a modified form of the jaw; Fig. 10, a horizontal section of the modiiied form of thejaw; Fig. 11, a cross-section of another modified form of the 2o jaw; Fig. 12, a face view of the same; Fig. 13, a detailed side View showing how the grip is suspended from the bottom ofthe car; Fig. 14, a cross-section of the same on the line c c, Fig. 13. Fig. 11l is a detailed end view of the grip, showing the jaws and pump. Fig. 1b

is a detailed top view of the stationary roller which supports the cable when down and of 'its frame for guiding the lifting-rollers, so that they shall not strike said supporting-roller.

This invention relates to sundry improvements on the cable-grips which were described in Letters Patent No. 305,107, of September 16, 1884, and No. 328,517, of October20, 1885,

the Letters Patent last mentioned having been reissued under date of January .12, 1886.

The present invention consists of sundry features of improvement, which will be hereinafter more fully specified.

In the drawings, the letter A represents the 4o bottom or frame of the car. This bottom or frame A has attached toit by an upright bolt, a, a turn-table, B, (see Fig. 13,) which turntable carries brackets O O, to which the uprights D D of the grip are hinged lat b. By

hinging these uprights the grip is enabled to swing horizontally, and thus to follow the car around a curve, while the rigid connection of the grip with the car-body, which is shown in the former patents, can be used only when the (No model.)

car runs on a sufficiently straight track. The 5o turntable B, which is swiveled by the bolt a to the under side of the car, as in Fig. 13, also assists in giving freedom of motion to thegrip and to the car, the one with respect .to the other, whenever the car travels on a curved track. The two uprights D D may meet and be, in fact, a single plate.

The uprights D D pass through the horizontal slit d, which is between the tracks, and have their lower end bent aside, as shown at ein Fig. 3, the bent arms e e of the two up-l rights carrying one of the grip-plates E. To the uprights DD are also hinged atf the bars F F, to which is secured the other gripplate, G. Elliptic springs H H, which are clearly shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, have the tendency to throw the bars F F away from the arms ee on the hingesf, as in Figs. 2 and 3, thereby holding the gri p-plates separated; but by the connection.. of the hydraulic pump'I, which is carried by the grip-plate E, and the plunger of which connects by the yoke J with the gripplate G, as in Fig. 1, the said grip plates can be brought together.

The elliptic springs H H are fastened each with one end to the bent arm e, while its other end is free to press against the hinged bar F. This arrangement of spring H is superior to the coiled spring contained in a cylinder, as shown in my former patent, No. 328,517, because the springs H H, with their free ends, are at liberty to follow the movement of the hinged arms F F in the act of separating the grip-plates.

Along each upright D is a sliding bar, L, whose lower end is forked, and carries in its fork the hinged roller-arm N, to which the cable-lifting roller M is secured. The rollerarm N connects by the rod g with another sliding bar,O, that slides alongside the upright D. The entire arrangement of the parts L, M, N, g, and O is duplicated, one set foreach upright D, so that the grip of a car has two lifting-rollers, M M, but these lifting-rollers are hung on opposite sides of the cableV P, as shown in Fig. 3, so that when they are swung up into a horizontal position (see Fig. 1) they approach the cable intervening from opposite sides, thus, insuring the proper elevation of the cable into the space between the grip plates or jaws. The slide O, which carries the rod g, is by a'link, h, connected with'the crank e' of a crank-shaft, Q, that is hung on proper supports beneath or on the bottom A of the car, and that has thehandle or lever j,.by which it can beA turned from the car-platform to raise or lower the slide O. When this slide O is lowered, it serves to swing the roller-arm M aside, as in Fig. 3, while when the said slide O is lifted it tends to swing the rollerarm N up into the position shown in Fig. 1, so as to lift the roller M for raising the cable. t Each slide O is guided in a strap, m, which is fastened to the uprights D D, and embraces the said slides/ 0 and L, which are next to one upright, D. Each slide O is also guided in a strap, n, which is attached to the slide L, as shown, to assist in holding the slides O in position. The two slides L L are'connected near their upper ends by the cross-bar R, which is a double bar, holding between it on cleats o springs p, that bear against the edges or faces of the uprights D D and serve to hold the slides L L in the desired position by frictional contact.

To insure the holding of the slides L L in the raised position, which is shown by full lines in Fig. 4, the uprights DD have recesses `or notches r, into which the rounded ends of the springs p enter. Out of this position the slides L L are conducted on their downward motion by the downwardly-moving slides O O as soon as thelatter strike the projecting shoulders s of the slides L L; and when the slides L L are thus moved down they carry the lifting-rollers M M and the roller-arms N N down with them into the position which is shown in Fig. 3. In their lowermost position they are arrested and maintained by, preferably cushioned, projections or pins t t, which 'project from the uprights D D, and against which the crossbar R is brought. The lower position of this cross-bar R'is indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4, showing it torest on the cushioned pins t. This is also shown in Fig. 3. Y

When, by turning the shaft Q, the slide O is raised, it rst draws on the rod g, and. swings the free end of the pin m5, which carries the lifting-roller M into the fork, which is proff vided for its reception in the corresponding portion, gf", of the bifurcated slide L, as indicated on the right-hand side of Fig. 4. The slide L now begins to ascend, the horizontal roller M being connectedwith the sliderL, serving to lift the same until all the parts are in the position which is indicated in Fig. 1. Fig. 1 shows the rollers M M raised, and the grip-jaws closed against the cable P, the parts being therefore in the operative position for i connecting the grip with the cable.

Each springp has its central portion con- 4 structed with projecting lugs p2, that straddle the cleat o2, and alongside of this cleat is a wedge, o, which can be driven into the crossbar R more or lessto properly tighten and` lock its spring.V By uniting the two slides L L by means of the cross-bar R, which slides with them, I add materially to the rigidity and reliability of the apparatus, and by using the stops t, I prevent the parts being strained whenthe slides are in the lowered position.

When the cable l? is dropped from the grip, as in Figs. 2 and 3, it falls upon supportingrollers u, which are hung. in frames c, that stand at the bottom of the well Within which the grip hangs. Now, in order to prevent the rollers M M, when they are in the position shown in Fig. 3, from striking against the rollers u and their frames c, which they might do if the car were in motion-going down hill for example-and not being in engagement with the cable, I surround the frame o by a doubly-pointed shield, S, which is more clearly shown, although on a reduced scale, in Fig. 1", and which lies in the path of the lower ends of the 'rollers MIVI, serving to guide them aside, so that they should not strike the frame vaud the roller u. Fig. 3 shows one of the rollers M in contact with the said shield S.

In order to insure the proper guidance of the cable Pinto its proper position between@ the gripping-jaws, the lower parts of the grip plates E G are beveled, as is clearly shown at w in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the two bevels forming the flaring mouth, so to speak,into which the lifting-rollers M M raise the cable, and by which it is guided between the gripping-jaws, that are hereinafter more specifically described.

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I will now proceed to describe the construe tion of the jaws proper. carries a series of friction-rollers, T T, which, however, are made without pins or gudgeons at the ends by which they are pivoted. I have found that such pins or gudgeons as are shown in my Letters Patent No. 328,517, at the ends of the griprollers,are liable to be strained,and that they, in fact, constitute the weakest part of the apparatus. In order todo away with their use,I construct each grip-plate with cavities a2 for receiving the said rollers, each cavity being more than semi-cylindrical, so that the partit-ions b2, which are formed betweenthel several rollers T because of these cavities, will serve to keep the rollers in place, since they (said partitions) extend forward in front of the line which is drawn through the centers of the rollers. The rollers T T are held in their places by removable top plates, c, or by equivalent bottom plates which are fastened Each grip-plate E G by screws to the grip-plates, so as to overlap the larger part of the end of each of said rollers. By unscrewing each plate c2 all the rollersT T are laid bare to lbe removed, inspected, and replaced. Behind each roller T, I prefer to hang a parallel or smaller roller, d2, against which said roller T is crowded when it first begins to engage the cable. In fact, before the grip is tightened on the cable it is desired that the rollers T T be free to revolve. I therefore find that the rollers d2 add to the efficiency ofthe apparatus by keeping the rollers T T free to revolve until they are actually pressed firmly against the cable, whereupon they (the rollers di) will be crowded by the rollers T T, so that both will be unable to revolve.

A modification of thejaws is shown in Figs. 9 and l0, and consists in setting one or more of the rollers T Tin a sliding box, e2, the sides of which form the partitions b2, behind which box is placed the cushion f2.

Another moditication of the jaw arrangement is shown in Figs. 11 and 12, and consists in placing a grooved plate, g2, in the gripplate E, between the set of rollers T T, the groove in the face of the plate g2 being in alignment with the grooves in the said rollers, as shown in Fig. l2.

The pump I, which is rigidly secured by a bracket, tothe grip-plate E, has a plunger, i2, which connects pivotally with a yoke, J, which in turn is pivoted at j2 to the gripplate G. (See Fig. la) The cross-piece mi, which connects the arms of the yoke J with the plunger i2, rests on top of the bracket h2, which holds the pump-body, so that when the plunger is moved to contract the jaws it will push the said cross-barm", which, meanwhile, slides on the upper face of the bracket h2, and which pulls the yoke .I behind it, so as to draw the grip-plate G toward the grip-plate E. This will be fully understood by reference to Fig.

la. By thus resting the cross-bar m2, I get a steady and reliable motion of the parts.

`In my former patent, No. 328,517, Ishowed a pump for moving one grip-plate toward the other and mechanism for actuating the pump beneath the bottom of the car. One object of my present invention is to simplify the mechanism for actuating the pump and to have it mostly on the car-platform, whereby the operation of working the pump will be greatly facilitated. For this purpose I connect the cylinder I, which is secured* to the grip-plate E by the pipe n2, with the cylinder W, which stands or hangs on the bottom A of the car. The pipe n2 passes through the slit d, which is formed in the street between the rails ofthe cable road. The actuating-plunger n3 of the cylinder WV is worked by a suitable lever, X, and serves, when said lever is properly moved, to force the liquid or other substance through the pipe a? into the cylinder I, so as to move the plunger i2. The means for actuating the liquid by the plunger n3 is not of my invention, and need not here be specifically described; but it is my invention to connect the cylinder W, which is carried by the platform or bottom of the car, by the pipe a2 with the cylinder I, which is carried by the grip-plate E. To this I have added the further improvement of putting into the pipe a2 a valve, o", which can be moved by a hand-levenl, so as to establish connection between the pipe n2 and another, n", that leads 'from the shell of the valve o3 into the cylinder NV. This lever p3 is moved whenever it may be desired to open the grip-jaws and let the cable drop, because, as soon as the pipes a and a* communicate, the

hydraulic pressure will be taken off the plun ger i2, and the springs I-I H will force the gripplates apart.

A downward extension, p4, of the lever p3 may be utilized to automatically disengage the cable whenever the car arrives at a terminal station, for at those places a tixed inoline, 1A, which is secured in the road in the path of the lever p* (see Figs. 1 and 4) will swing the said lever so as to open communication between the pipes ai and a, thereby opening the grip-plates and disengaging the cable.

Normally the lever p4 is balanced by springs s4 (see Fig. 8) or by equivalent weight to remain in an upright position in which to hold the end-of the pipe a* shut. A passage through the valve 0il is shown in Fig. 8 to in-Y dicate that such valve is not intended to interrupt communication between the two parts of the pipe a2 into which said valve is set.

Whenever in this specification I mention uprights D D, I desire it understood that a single plate will be equivalent to the two separated uprights. In other words, uniting the two uprights by a web or plate or making them in one piece therewith would not be a departure from my invention. I claiml. In the cable-grip, the uprights D, which carry the gripping-jaws, combined with the loo tog

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hinges b,from which the upper ends of the up- I rights are suspended, substantiallyas is herein shown and described.

2. The combination of the car bottom A with the upright bolt a, swiveled turn-table B, brackets C, and hingedl uprights D, which are connected to said brackets, substantially as herein shown and described.

3. The combination of the upright D, having bent arm e, with the grip-plate E, which is rigidly secured to said bent arm, and with the hinged bar F, carrying the grip-plate G, and with the ellipticspring H,which is rigidly attached to the bent arm e, but free to move in contact with the hingedarm F, substantially as described.

4. In combination with the uprights D of a cable-grip, the slides L L and cross-bar B, having spi-ings p, which bear against the uprights D, substantially as shown and described.

5. The'combination of the slides L L and their connecting crossbar B with the springs preventing the lifting-rollers M M of a 'grip p and with the nprghts D, having notches or4 from striking the roller u or frame o, as specifled. f a 9. The grip-plates-E G, combined with upright rollers T T, and constructed below said rollers with lower bevels, w, to form cable-` guides, as described.

l0. In combination with the recessed gripplate E, the grip-rollers T T, and the frictional olers d?, set behind said grip-rollers, as speci- 11. The combination of the grip-plate E with the grooved Vrollers T T and grooved plate g, the groove in said plate being in alignment with the grooves in said rollers, substantially as herein shown and described. 12. A cable-grip constructed Withupright-s D, two connected slides, L L, which carryrollers M M, and two slides, O O, which connect with the frames M of said rollers, all arranged so that the two rollers M M will be raised from opposite sides against the cable P Whenever the slides O vO are raised, as specified.

13. The combination of the pump I, bracket h2, and grip-plateE with the plunger i", crossbar m", yoke J, pivot jz, and grip-plate G, all arranged so that said cross-bar m2 will slide on the bracket h2 Whenever the plunger i is moved, as specified.- g

14. The combination of the grip-plate Eand the hydraulic pump I, which it carries, with the pipe n, car-platform A, and operatingcylinder W, having plunger n3, substantially as herein shown and described.

15. The combination of the hydraulic cylinder I, pipe n2, cylinder W, having plunger 'bination with the fixed incline r* on the track of a cable road, substantially as herein shown and described; v GARRET A. POLHEMEUS.

Witnessesz CHARLES G. M. THOMAS, HARRY M. TURK. 

